Relationships

A Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism

/ sarahlcurtiss

“A Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism” is a wonderful resource and online community.  They have a blog, facebook page, and book so you can check them out in what ever way is most comfortable to you.  Although they deal with many topics related to Autism Spectrum Disorders, they often touch on topics of sexuality.

I especially would recommend checking out this post, “Talking About Sex with Young Adults with Autism”  Here’s an excerpt.

“Amy looked nice, but the grown-ups wouldn’t let us go in Amy’s room and shut the door.”

“Did Amy want to go in her room with you and shut the door?”

“Not really. So we went outside and the parents kept watching us.”

“Did Amy want to be alone with you outside?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Did you touch Amy?”

“I wanted to. I wanted her to lie down on the grass so we could do sex.”

“Have you ever had sex with anyone else?”

“Probably not.”

The Specials

/ sarahlcurtiss / 2 Comments

I had a great time in Rockford at The Birds and the Bees workshop.  I always feel like I learn so much each time I do a workshop.  I got to meet a lot of interesting folks and I hope people walked away with a few things to think about.  One thing that people asked for was some video showing what education might actually look like.  I haven’t been able to find a great video yet, but I did find a web series that is really interesting called “The Specials”.  It is made in the UK and follows five young adults as they transition out of school and into a group home.  It is really interesting and touches on topics of sexuality.  Worth checking out.  http://www.the-specials.com/episodes 

Unfortunately- the website just has excerpts from the show and the DVDs aren’t available for purchase yet in the US.  The excerpts are rather long and sometimes the full ones pop up on You Tube so keep an eye out.

Social Narrative for Initiating Social Interactions

/ sarahlcurtiss

This is a social narrative in comic strip form.  It supports initiating social interactions.  One strip is for people you don’t know at all and the other strip is for people you know a little.  I would use this in combination with role playing (can you tell I like role playing?).  Over initiating and under initiating can both be a problem.  This is geared more towards encouraging initiation, but it could be used to help establish boundaries too. The YAI relationship videos also cover some of this information. Click here to get as a pdf: How do I even start

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Ways to Say No

/ sarahlcurtiss

I developed this to be used in conjunction with the YAI relationship series, but you could definitely use it independently.  I would use this to supplement role playing and practice using each of the saying no strategies.  You can click here to get it as a pdf:

Ways to say no.

My Looking Guide

/ sarahlcurtiss

You might have seen this visual aid at the workshop.  Often folks don’t understand why something as simple as looking at someone else may get them into trouble.  This visual support explains how the other person might feel as well as what they can do in various situations.  Click on the link if you would like to view this image as a pdf (feel free to copy and use it for educational purposes).

My looking guide.